Le Flore County Undersheriff Kendall Morgan said the search resumed Thursday morning in southern LeFlore County, with the Civil Air Patrol and American Red Cross coming in to assist.

The Leflore County sheriff said he was trying to use the signal from the pilot’s cellphone to find his location, but the phone was inactive.

Pilot Ray Broadbent, 71, is with his Piper Cub plane. His wife, Dardee Broadbent, said he has been flying since he was 19 years old. He left Searcy on Monday morning, headed toward Elk City, but never arrived.

He used to fly for Pan Am, according to Dardee.

"All we can do is pray," said Dardee Broadbent.

The plane lost radar contact near Pipe Springs, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, and the sheriff’s office said the search area has been narrowed down to a 3- or 4-mile radius from the location where Broadbent lost contact.

Speaking about the search Sheriff Rob Seale said, “A lot of it is only accessible by foot, horseback, or ATV. You can’t really get any big vehicles in there, four-wheel-drive vehicles or anything. So it’s going to take a while to search it. Our best bet is to hope the plane, will be able to find it on an aerial search and direct us in there.”

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